Genetic differentiation between and within Northern Native American language groups: an argument for the expansion of the Native American CODIS database.

The National Research Council recommends that genetic differentiation among subgroups of ethnic samples be lower than 3% of the total genetic differentiation within the ethnic sample to be used for estimating reliable random match probabilities for forensic use. Native American samples in the United States' Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database represent four language families: Algonquian, Na-Dene, Eskimo-Aleut, and Salishan. However, a minimum of 27 Native American language families exists in the US, not including language isolates.

Flanking region variation of ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit STR and SNP loci in Yavapai Native Americans.

Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) offers advantages over current capillary electrophoresis-based analysis of short tandem repeat (STR) loci for human identification testing. In particular STR repeat motif sequence information can be obtained, thereby increasing the discrimination power of some loci. While sequence variation within the repeat region is observed relatively frequently in some of the commonly used STRs, there is an additional degree of variation found in the flanking regions adjacent to the repeat motif.

The genetic structure of native Americans in North America based on the Globalfiler® STRs.

Current forensic STR databases, such as CODIS, lack population genetic data on Native American populations. Information from a geographically diverse array of tribes is necessary to provide improved statistical estimates of the strength of associations with DNA evidence. The Globalfiler® STR markers were used to characterize the genetic structure of ten tribal populations from seven geographic regions in North America, including those not presently represented in forensic databases.

Native American population data based on the Globalfiler(®) autosomal STR loci.

Native American population data are limited and thus impact computing accurate statistical parameters for forensic investigations. Thus, additional information should be generated from geographically representative tribes in North America, particularly from those that are not included in existing population databases for forensic use. The Globafiler(®) PCR Amplification kit was used to produce STR genotypic data for 533 individuals who represent 31 Native American tribal populations derived from eight geographically diverse regions in North America.

Genetic analysis of the Yavapai Native Americans from West-Central Arizona using the Illumina MiSeq FGx™ forensic genomics system.

Forensically-relevant genetic markers were typed for sixty-two Yavapai Native Americans using the ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit.These data are invaluable to the human identity community due to the greater genetic differentiation among Native American tribes than among other subdivisions within major populations of the United States. Autosomal, X-chromosomal, and Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (STR) and identity-informative (iSNPs), ancestry-informative (aSNPs), and phenotype-informative (pSNPs) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele frequencies are reported.

An empirical comparison of short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for relatedness estimation in Chinese rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

We compare the effectiveness of short tandem repeat (STR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes for estimating pairwise relatedness, using molecular data and pedigree records from a captive Chinese rhesus macaque population at the California National Primate Research Center. We find that a panel of 81 SNPs is as effective at estimating first-order kin relationships as a panel of 14 highly polymorphic STRs. We note, however, that the selected STRs provide more precise predictions of relatedness than the selected SNPs, and may be preferred in contexts that require the discrimination of kin related more distantly than first-order relatives.